Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has joined the dire warnings of Government Senator Bill Heffernan that Australia's security is being put at risk because of its limited fuel supplies.

The comments by the Senator this week add weight to Mr Katter’s eternal cries for Australia to have a domestically produced fuel supply - such as ethanol.

Yet when the Government released its Energy White Paper this year the then Industry Minister said he was considering only two options to address the fuel security problem - building bigger tanks or buying supply contracts from other countries.

But both options continue to rely on imported oil, which Mr Katter said today was utterly ridiculous and contributed to the greatest threat to Australia’s security in the lack of a domestic fuel supply.

“Senator Heffernan’s comments come hard upon a series of NRMA reports outlining that Australia’s fuel supply might be down to as little as 9 days.

“People don’t understand that there is only one single way that you could get life-saving drugs from one town to another – that is by the use of diesel or petrol.

“Almost 40% of our food is now imported and you won’t be able to get it from the port to your home if there is no petrol and no diesel.

“If ISIS blew up five or six oil tankers coming into Australia our country would grind to a halt.

“The only Australian fuel refineries are in Western Australia, which isn’t a lot of help to over 20 million people that live on the East Coast of Australia – you’d burn up half the petrol bringing it across the country.

“It is to our county’s eternal shame that the successive ALP and LNP junta that runs Australia has not done something to secure our fuel supply.”

Mr Katter said the resistance by Australia’s politicians to ethanol was unbelievable.

“State and Federal Governments have made a decision to send $23,000 million a year to buy oil from the Middle East, instead of sending that $23,000 million into regional and rural Australia to produce ethanol.

“That one act would restore prosperity to the grain, sugar and cattle industries.

“Every county on earth with the exception of Australia, Africa and the Middle Eastern oil producing companies are relying on ethanol.

“And yet you still hear people in Australia, as well as politicians, say it makes your car break down - well since about 80% of the world’s cars are driving on 10% ethanol, are they all breaking down are they?

“Are the people of Australia so gullible that they would believe this rubbish coming out of the oil companies?

“There needs to be a mandate for ethanol – the bowsers are owned and controlled by the oil companies – they’re not going to willingly stand aside and share their profits with Australian farmers and Australian workers.

“But if Australia moved to mandate ethanol, within 3 years we could be producing 20% of our fuel requirements and make ourselves defensible against the insecurity and vulnerability of our oil tankers,” Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter will be moving legislation in the Federal Parliament in the New Year calling for a national 10% ethanol mandate. In Queensland this month the KAP secured a 4% ethanol mandate from 2018.